Coronavirus Update: Las Vegas Mayor Won't Give Businesses Reopening Guidelines, 'Better Figure It Out'

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman is supporting and calling for the reopening of the strip amid the coronavirus pandemic, but she refuses to issue any safety measures and social distancing guidelines to ensure the health and safety of the public. Instead, the mayor is leaving it up to businesses to "better figure it out."

In an interview with CNN, Goodman told anchor Anderson Cooper that it is the business owner's job, not the mayor's, to figure out the safety measures.

"I am not a private owner," Goodman said. "That's the competition in this country -- the free enterprise and to be able to make sure that what you offer the public meets the needs of the public."

Goodman has called the lockdown "total insanity" as businesses are forced to closed indefinitely to slow down the coronavirus infection. However, the mayor believes that the longer businesses are closed, the harder it will be for the economy to recover. Meanwhile, she said that competitions in surrounding areas would completely destroy some businesses in Las Vegas and the whole state of Nevada.

Cooper pointed out to the mayor what medical experts have been saying about reopening the economy, citing that there should be more tests, contact tracing, and personal protective equipment for frontliners and essential workers. The anchor asked the mayor if her government has these in place.

"It's not part of our job," the mayor replied. "That's part of our health department, part of our hospital jobs, our labs, those are the ones with the experience."

Goodman also told Cooper that her days are filled with visiting constituents to "hold the hands of families" who are worried about their wages to pay for rent or food on the table. She said that she is also speaking to Las Vegas casino owners every day.

She revealed to Cooper that she offered Las Vegas to be the "control group" since people routinely travel to Las Vegas before going to other states. Goodman said that the city might be able to provide useful data, but, apparently, her offer was turned down. The mayor did not elaborate if she made this proposal to the state or the federal government.

Cooper commented that it would be unsafe for her to do an experiment on Las Vegas as people would likely die.

“You don’t know that,” the mayor replied.

To date, Las Vegas has 3,218 cases and 150 deaths, per the Southern Nevada Health District. The decision to reopen Las Vegas casinos lies in the Gaming Control Board despite Goodman's repeated calls for Sin City businesses to resume operations.